I'm turning an 8" long piece of purpleheart for a candle holder. Will my Nova chuck hold it securely and safely to turn the ends -- especially where I need to hollow out a 3/4" recess for the candle?
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Turning ends of cylinder
- Thread starter Lawrence Tarnoff
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If it's a valuable piece of wood, then you should be thinking like you are--carefully. A catch can wreck it.
A lot of people will use a steady. 8" is quite a lot to hang out there, but a 3/4" shallow hole to hollow makes it easier. If you do everything you can between centers (turn it round and shape the final profile), then turn a tenon for the chuck, you can turn the candle recess from the chuck hold if you are careful. Trust your chuck if you can make a good tenon. Then you can part it off at the bottom, or reverse it in some creative jam chuck against the tailstock center again to finish the tenon as the bottom.
That's how I'd approach it, but there are lots of experienced turners out there to guide you.
A lot of people will use a steady. 8" is quite a lot to hang out there, but a 3/4" shallow hole to hollow makes it easier. If you do everything you can between centers (turn it round and shape the final profile), then turn a tenon for the chuck, you can turn the candle recess from the chuck hold if you are careful. Trust your chuck if you can make a good tenon. Then you can part it off at the bottom, or reverse it in some creative jam chuck against the tailstock center again to finish the tenon as the bottom.
That's how I'd approach it, but there are lots of experienced turners out there to guide you.
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The cup center will leave a perfect mark for you to bore your 3/4 taper 7/8 candle recess at the drill press after you're done shaping. Be sure to clamp it in place so it doesn't twist.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
I drill the hole first. It's safer, and if you screw it up you can easily start over. I make a jig for my live center that fits the hole. That way the hole is always perfectly centered.
I purchased a special tapered candle stick bit from woodworkerssupply.
http://woodworker.com/search.asp?search=95600
Rude Osolnik used to simply use a spade bit in the drill press and just push the candlestick up into the bit by hand. Scared the heck out me but he made a gazillion candlesticks.
Before I got the custom cutter from woodworkers supply I custom ground a spade bit with a taper. The wood had to be clamped because it chattered pretty bad. Probably because I ground it by hand I'll bet the two sides aren't exactly the same.
I purchased a special tapered candle stick bit from woodworkerssupply.
http://woodworker.com/search.asp?search=95600
Rude Osolnik used to simply use a spade bit in the drill press and just push the candlestick up into the bit by hand. Scared the heck out me but he made a gazillion candlesticks.
Before I got the custom cutter from woodworkers supply I custom ground a spade bit with a taper. The wood had to be clamped because it chattered pretty bad. Probably because I ground it by hand I'll bet the two sides aren't exactly the same.
Thanks
Thanks for the suggestions. I decided to use a forstner bit on the drill press at a low speed and it worked fine. John Lucas ... thanks for your excellent video on the Hunter carbide gouge. I've purchased one and love it!
Thanks for the suggestions. I decided to use a forstner bit on the drill press at a low speed and it worked fine. John Lucas ... thanks for your excellent video on the Hunter carbide gouge. I've purchased one and love it!
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Also, you could use a spindle gouge to slightly taper the sides after boring the recess with the Forstner bit.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
two other ways to do it. One of course is to use a steady rest. Then you simply turn the opening. The steady rest will hold the loose end. There is also an option used on metal lathes called a spider rest. It is used to hold out or round pieces. I have thought about building one to fit in my steady rest so I could turn details in the end of square pieces.
I could not find the photos or videos of a spider rest in use. I'll keep looking when I get time.
I could not find the photos or videos of a spider rest in use. I'll keep looking when I get time.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
I found one photo of a spider chuck. What I'm thinking is you can a sort of stair step chuck body. The screws that lock the work in place would be on the lower step and would be set lower than the big step. The big step could be set up to rotate inside your steady rest.
Using this setup you could turn round shapes or bore holes into the end of long spindles that were square or out of round. p
In fact if you made 2 of these, the one in the headstock end would be the reversed with the small step in the back, then you could grip it with the chuck. This would allow you to turn odd shaped pieces and center them anyway you wanted. In fact instead of 4 holes for the spider you could make an odd number of holes to hold really odd shaped pieces.
Using this setup you could turn round shapes or bore holes into the end of long spindles that were square or out of round. p
In fact if you made 2 of these, the one in the headstock end would be the reversed with the small step in the back, then you could grip it with the chuck. This would allow you to turn odd shaped pieces and center them anyway you wanted. In fact instead of 4 holes for the spider you could make an odd number of holes to hold really odd shaped pieces.
